My name is Alistair Park and I'm a professional carver who is based in Bristol, England. I've been carving for over twenty-two years and I also enjoy teaching my skills to people of all ages.
You'll find posts here about all kinds of things to do with carving; the work that I do, the people that I meet and the things that I see which inspire me.
Please feel free to comment on anything of interest, it'd be great to hear from you!

As well as this blog, I also have a website with lots more images of my work as well as a few more stories.

If you like woodcarvings, you'll want to have a look.

Monday, 1 July 2013

The one hundredth post! What's going on this month then? 'Inspired' at Ashton Court!

Yes, one hundred posts published! Time for a cake to celebrate! And then some carving, I think I'll need the energy...

There's a very busy month ahead. I've been invited to show in the 'Inspired' exhibition at Ashton Court in Bristol from the 28th July to the 4th August 2013. It's quite an honour as there are some well known people exhibiting in the same show...

The organiser, Sue Darlison, is a very talented furniture designer and maker who regularly shows at the prestigious Cheltenham Celebration of Craftsmanship. Her work is beautifully executed and always worth seeing.

John Makepeace is probably one of the most influential post-war British furniture designers . He founded Parnham, where many of the top contemporary makers trained. It will be very interesting to see what he shows at 'Inspired'.

Margaret Lovell is a sculptor who trained with Barbara Hepworth. Her sculpted forms have a similar beautiful, elegant simplicity of form.

In addition, I'll be carving a maquette for the 'Matthew' figurehead and chatting with visitors. Should be a lot of fun, although there's a lot of work to be done in preparation. Entry to the exhibition is free, why not come and check out the work on show if you can make it to Bristol?

Oh, I'm also going to be doing the first half of my training to become a Forest School Leader this month. Busy times!